There's a rebel within you. It's the part of you that already knows how to break free of fear and unhappiness. This rebel is the voice of your own awakened mind. It's your rebel buddha - the sharp, clear intelligence that resists the status quo. It wakes you up from the sleepy acceptance of your day-to-day reality and shows you the power of your enlightened nature. It's the vibrant, insightful energy that compels you to seek the truth.

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Publisher's Summary

There's a rebel within you. It's the part of you that already knows how to break free of fear and unhappiness. This rebel is the voice of your own awakened mind. It's your rebel buddha - the sharp, clear intelligence that resists the status quo. It wakes you up from the sleepy acceptance of your day-to-day reality and shows you the power of your enlightened nature. It's the vibrant, insightful energy that compels you to seek the truth.

Dzogchen Ponlop guides you through the inner revolution that comes from unleashing your rebel buddha. He explains how, by training your mind and understanding your true nature, you can free yourself from needless suffering. He presents a thorough introduction to the essence of the Buddha's teachings and argues that, if we are to bring these teachings fully into our personal experience, we must go beyond the cultural trappings of traditional Asian Buddhism. We all want to find some meaningful truth about who we are, he says, but we can only find it guided by our own wisdom - by our own rebel buddha within.

What the Critics Say

"Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche shatters old myths and sweeps away cultural baggage, presenting the essence of the Buddha’s teachings in a fresh, contemporary voice. With uncommon clarity and authority, he offers a new vision for the future of Buddhism that is at once shocking and hopeful. This is a small book with a big message that is timely and important." (Pema Chödrön, author of When Things Fall Apart)

"The author's practical approach is disarming, especially when applying Buddhism to the challenges of everyday life." (Publishers Weekly)

Excellent book for it makes me want to learn more about Buddhism. I liked that he takes a more philosophical approach as opposed to a religious approach. I also liked that it is written as if the author grew up in Toronto and watched the same TV shows etc. He explained things in a way that made sense and enriched some of my previous beliefs on Buddhism. The book actually made me feel more peaceful.

First, I throughly enjoy Jonathan Davis as a narrator! I will always check the books he has done first. His voice is annimated and very easy to listen to. In the reading of Rebel Buddha his voice was a pleasant smile.

Rebel Budda is a book of searching for the buddha in yourself. It addresses the rebel part in us all. In questing our truth we often look to teachers or books before we examine what our basic question is. Dzogchen talks of letting the question grow and ferment first to get to fully understand the question. This one statement resonated for me all through the book.

This is an excellent read for anyone with a questioning mind, seeking answers for themselves.

A wonderful book that expresses the teachings of the Buddha in a way that us mere mortals can understand. The book uses 'today's language' it is not full of terms that are foreign that can belittle the reader unlike a number of books about Buddha that I have read. The meditation examples are also excellent and have been a real help for me. The speed is great, the narration is excellent, I couldn't recomment the experience highly enough.

I really enjoyed listening to Rebel Buddha, but I know I will need to listen to it again. There were so many good concepts to digest I know this will be one of those where I pick up something new each time. I find the writing very approachable for the modern reader and I learned a lot about Buddhist concepts which is just what I was looking for.

One of the best books written about Buddhism and it's place in modern life. It is easily accessible and yet deeply profound. The narration is flawless. The reading pace and voice are perfect for the subject. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this beautifully crafted audible.

Where does Rebel Buddha rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

For anyone who is looking to find an informational book about walking the buddhist path, this is the book to read or listen too. Very intelligent on relating to the present day. The truth just spills out like water pouring over a mountain top. Very, Very enjoyable. I would recommend to everyone who want a clear perspective on the inner workings of our minds and how to practice with it. Much thanks to the author and narrator for creating such a masterpiece of literature.

What about Jonathan Davis and Dzogchen Ponlop (introduction) ’s performance did you like?

To be honest there isn't anything very special about Rebel Buddha. The main reason I personally enjoyed it as much as I did was because of the ideas and philosophy of Buddhism more than the writing or performance of the book. Rebel Buddha is just another retelling of teachings and stories of the Buddha, only somewhat modified with a pop culture flavour -- for example relating chewing gum to the understanding of emptiness. For anyone interested in learning about Buddhism Rebel Buddha is very pleasant and understandable and there are many wonderful ideas contained in its pages for those prepared to go to the effort of becoming "enlightened".

It is not a story in the sense of a fictional novel...it is an explanation of an ancient philosopy in a manner that was easy for me to understand and from which to draw understandings that are very helpful in walking a spritual path. I am not a Buddhist but found the book to be of great value.

What about Jonathan Davis and Dzogchen Ponlop (introduction) ’s performance did you like?

They were both easy to listen to and quite clear, well cadenced and paced.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No because I needed to reflect on short segments before moving on to the next. It could be listened to in one sitting, I think, without becoming weary. Spacing it out was just my preferred way of absorbing it.

Any additional comments?

For me the book's chief message is the suggestion to view Buddhism as a science of the mind and from that all else flows in a logical sequence. I think that it is an excellent approach especially for westerners and the book is oriented to that audience. It uses examples from western culture such as Starbucks, television and movies to illustrate points that might otherwise be lost in the bias of eastern culture and context. I am not saying that eastern culture is biased, I mean that it is very different culturally which makes it difficult for me to relate to many original teachings. Rebel Buddha addresses the reinterpretation of this ancient wisdom in a brilliant manner.

This is by far the best dissertation on Buddhism I have ever seen and listened to.

I own both the audio and the book and both are well worth the investment in time and money.

No pantheons of gods, no theology at all - Buddhism as many believe the Buddha taught it originally - as a form of working with the mind to develop equanimity.

Highly, highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Kerouacfan

Warrington, UK

7/7/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Takes a while to get started"

If you could sum up Rebel Buddha in three words, what would they be?

Inspiring, Original, Long

Would you recommend Rebel Buddha to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes. Rather than preach Buddhism as is, the author reminds us that even in today's fast-paced life the original Buddha would have still found enlightenment and there is no physical or spiritual reason why we can't too

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Davis and Dzogchen Ponlop (introduction) – was your favourite?

This question is not relevant as this book is about Buddha, the author and readers

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Buddha without a pause

Any additional comments?

At first the book seems a little long-winded and dare I say it repetitive. However; as the book goes on and we get to the 'meat' of the subject, the earlier readings act as a call-back

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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